Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

for an appropriate location for the centre's office and laboratory, in addition to endorsing financial support. Prof. K w o k was responsible f or the a c q u i s i t i on o f an x - r a y p h o t o e l e c t r on s p e c t r o m e t er a nd a s c a n n i ng A u g e r microscope and for designing the labs. Prof. Wong helped set up the analysis program of the Rutherford backscattering spectrometer for analysing industrial samples. A l l four are involved in the recruitment of staff and staff training. The centre was officially opened on 18th January 1999 on the University campus. Co l l a b o r a t i on Between A c a d em ia a nd I n d u s t ry In the past the surface finishing and metal f i n i s h i ng i ndu s t r i es c o u ld o n ly r e ly on overseas expertise to solve their production problems. The costs were astronomical and only large manufacturers could afford the service. Me d i um and small manufacturers could hardly bank on this method to improve their products. Now w i th the installation in the centre of state-of-the-art equipment which can provide fast, effective, and high quality service, they can seek speedy assistance locally. Moreover they w i ll only be charged the use of the equipment (HK$500 per hour for industry and HK $ 3 00 for academia). Expert service and analysis are free. For surface finishing and metal finishing i n d u s t r i e s, the design and d e v e l o pme nt departments are usually located in Hong Kong even i f p r o d u c t i on takes p l a ce on the mainland. The demand for materials analysis services is therefore always there. Import/ export agencies of industrial materials also need this k i nd o f technology for qua l i ty c on t r ol o f their merchandise. Even large ma n u f a c t u r e rs w i t h i n - h o u se ma t e r i a ls analysis equipment w i l l have to resort to the centre's services at times because combined in the centre are the facilities and wide-ranging expertise of the University's Departments of P h y s i c s , C h e m i s t r y , a nd E l e c t r o n i c Engineering, and the Hong Kong Productivity Co u n c i l. Problems c o u ld thus be solved rapidly and effectively. L o o k i ng to a Bright Future D u r i n g the f i r s t three years o f its operation, the centre w i ll strive to promote its services among manufacturers so as to gain their faith and establish connections. In the latter half of 1998, over 30 manufacturers used some 500 hours of the centre's services. And in January 1999 alone over a hundred hours were used. A t this rate, the centre w i l l easily reach its target of o f f e r i ng 4,500 hours of service in three years. Centre director Prof. Leo Lau is f u ll of confidence that the centre will very soon be able to break even and stand on its own. Important tasks in the coming months include obtaining accreditation from ISO 9000 f o r its a n a l y s is p r o c e d u r e s, and the d e v e l o pme nt o f a c omp u t er database o f analysis cases to serve as a reference centre for industrial applications.• Vice-Chancellor Prof. Arthur Li said at the opening ceremony that the setting up of the centre was necessitated by the demands of society and the market. It will help advance the development of local industries and the University's research, and establish an effective model for future collaboration between academia and industry. (From left) Prof. Ian Wilson, Prof. Leo Lau and Prof. Raymond Kwok next to the scanning Auger microscope Advanced Surface and Materials Analysis Centre 37